Sen. Chris Murphy hospitalized after stroke, aide says he is awake and alert
Connecticut Democrat Chris Murphy was hospitalized Saturday after experiencing a stroke at his son's hockey game, and his office says he is responding well to treatment.
Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, was hospitalized Saturday after suffering a stroke, his office said. Herwitt said in a statement released Sunday that the senator is awake and alert and responding well to treatment. Doctors, she said, are encouraged by his progress, and the family is optimistic that he will make a full recovery.
Murphy began experiencing numbness in his arm on Saturday afternoon while attending his son's hockey game. He was taken to a local hospital, where doctors determined that he had experienced a stroke. He was then transferred to Johns Hopkins for further monitoring. Herwitt's statement described the course of his care in those terms, without giving a timeline for how long he will remain hospitalized.
Murphy, who was born on August 3, 1973, is 53 years old. He was first elected to the Senate in 2013 and has been viewed as a potential candidate for the 2028 Democratic presidential primary. He is not running in the midterm elections, but he has spent the past several weeks on the campaign trail with Democrats, working to help the party retake control of the Senate majority. He had been scheduled to campaign for Democrats in New Hampshire on Sunday, an appearance that will not take place as planned.
The hospitalization comes at a busy moment for the party. Murphy had been one of the more visible Democratic voices stumping across the country in the final stretch before the midterms, and his absence removes a prominent surrogate from those efforts during the weeks when campaigns typically intensify their outreach. Coverage of his condition across national outlets has focused on the speed with which he was treated and the reassurance from his office that he is conscious and communicating.
Herwitt's statement is the main public account of Murphy's condition so far, and his office has not released further details about his treatment, prognosis or expected return to the Senate. Those questions are likely to remain open in the days ahead as the senator continues his care at Johns Hopkins.
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